Residents opposed to paddock

Many speak out against plan in Eddie Vickers Park

Assistant City Manager Tim Burchfield had his hands full Wednesday with about 50 Lincolnville residents who voiced opposition on a proposed plan to build five carriage horse paddocks on open land in Eddie Vickers Park, near the wastewater treatment plant on Riberia Street.

A paddock is a small enclosure used to keep horses.

Burchfield hosted the informal Lunch ‘n’ Learn meeting to allow residents to ask questions and review the plans for the facility, which were presented to the City Commission on Feb. 25.

Overwhelmingly, those who spoke opposed putting any horse stables in the park.

Some, like Solomon Eubanks of Twine Street, were adamant in their dislike of the plan.

“We don’t need no horse stables,” Solomon, 69, said. “I’ve lived in Lincolnville half of my life. They’ve been doing stuff to us down here all our lives. This used to be the city dump. Over here, where we used to play ball, the police used to have target practice. We’ve got a nice park here, and we don’t need those horses in here.”

Suzy Fay, also of Twine Street, said she had two major concerns.

“One is that the location is extremely close to the waterway,” Fay said. “Horses will have an impact, and I don’t want to see the manure run into the waterway. My second concern is that public taxes would ultimately have to support this and I don’t think we should pay for private businesses to succeed.”

Bob Stevens, owner of St. Augustine Horse & Carriage, called the plan a “beautification project.”

“The horse stables would buffer the water treatment plant,” Stevens said. “When you’re watching a baseball game, instead of looking at the plant, you’d see a nice area with horses. We could make it into a point of destination, really. Let tourists come out and see the horses here.”

William Cushion, owner of Country Carriages, said he understood the neighborhood’s concern.

“By no means do any of the carriage companies want to upset the community,” Cushion said. “We’d like to move to the larger space, but we don’t want to upset residents.”

Currently, four of the five operating horse carriage companies in St. Augustine share a small piece of city-owned land at the south end of Riberia Street, just beyond St. Augustine Marine Center. The other company does not have a facility in town. The sixth, St. Augustine Transfer Co., owned by Murphy McDaniel, closed operations at its half-acre location at the corner of Riberia Street and LaQuinta Place in March due to bankruptcy.

The current stable facility is leased by the city to Jennifer Cushion, owner of Country Carriages, Burchfield said.

Cushion sub-leased portions of that parcel to three of the other carriage companies.

However, at just around one acre, it’s too small, he said. The proposed plan would more than double the amount of space by putting it onto the only other piece of city-owned land that is appropriately zoned to allow the stabling of horses, Burchfield said.

Most residents who addressed Burchfield said they weren’t against the carriage companies.

“No one in the neighborhood has any problems with the horses and carriages. We happen to love them,” said Judith Seraphin, who lives on South Street and is president of the Lincolnville Neighborhood Association. “What we don’t love is the idea of putting the horse paddocks in the park. First of all, it would take away a lot of the parking for the Lincolnville Farmer’s Market, but more than that, it’s an offense to the people that live around here. No one wants the smell of the horses, no one wants the dirt the horses will bring once they eat all the grass. You’ll have dirt and manure flying through the neighborhood.”

The new facility would increase the stable site from its current size of 4,000 square feet to 8,600 square feet, Burchfield said.

In addition, the new facility would include five grassed paddocks, something the current facility does not provide. The grassy paddocks near the plant would be fenced to provide places for the horses to roam and feature a gravel road leading to a circle where horses can be unloaded from trailers.

The total cost for the paddock construction is estimated at from $80,000 to $100,000.

While the city would pay for that up front, it would be repaid by the carriage companies over a period of 5-10 years.

“Any money invested in this facility would be paid back, plus interest,” Burchfield said. “It will not cost the taxpayers anything extra.”

The plan to move the stables would not require a new ordinance, Burchfield said, and if the city commission green lights the plan, it would go forward immediately. He said he’s going to try to get the plan on the agenda for the June 10 commission meeting. If not then, it would be on the June 24 agenda, he said.

The current parcel used for stables would be used for “future projects.”

“I encourage all residents who have issues with this plan to show up at the commission meeting and voice their concerns,” Burchfield said. “Let the commissioners hear your voice.”

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The horses will smell, but will they smell worse than the waste water treatment plant when the wind is out of the south? How can people complain about horses when the treatment plant and been operating, and emitting odor for years. Right now the horse stables are only a few hundred yards from the proposed location. The stables will improve the community not burden it.

Horse flies bite like heck and believe it when it is said that the flies will follow the horses. Why continue treating the residents of Lincolnville like "the hired help" and move all the poor horses out of town. Other than the tourist ripoff specialists who do they help? Move the poor beasts back to a farm where they belong. The horses will appreciate the move. Who in city government is being rewarded by pushing for this facility? Is it simply political contributions or is there more to it?

what's a little smell from horses??? Judith, you already have dirt & manure from the horses coming through Lincolnville,, and when did it start flying ??? magic manure & dirt ??? perhaps the horses could learn to fly as well ??? ought to go well with the new city owned pool at gallimore center ???